Fishing Lac du Gap in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac du Gap in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec. The surface lies 313 metres up. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. On size it sits at the modest end of our Abitibi-Témiscamingue list. You are 54 km from Notre-Dame-du-Lac. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 201 km away. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Gap

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Abitibi-Témiscamingue include northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The near bank of Lac du Gap is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -15°C at the bottom of winter. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac du Gap.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. A launch point is recorded some 450 m off. Parking is mapped about 460 m from the bank. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Lac Cognee is 0.9 km distant. For Lac du Gap, the notice at the access point is the final word.